Driven by higher food, gasoline and housing cost, consumer prices continued to accelerate in March. This marked the sixth straight month for inflation above a 6% rate and was the fastest annual pace since December 1981. Though gas prices have fallen slightly from their March highs, the pace of inflation will likely stay high in…
NAHB analysis of the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) 2020 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) estimates the national homeownership rate at 66.4%. This analysis provides a further breakdown of this rate through the lens of married couple homeownership, which we estimate at 79% for 2020. In addition to the overall married couple homeownership rate, two…
According to the latest May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $49,070 and the top 25% make at least $75,820. In comparison, the U.S. median wage is $45,760, while the…
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 1.1% in February after an increase of 1.1% in January. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $850.6 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 16.6% higher than a year ago. These monthly gains are attributed to the…
In the past month, total mortgage activity, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, underwent a series of weekly declines, decreasing in the latest week by 6.3 percent. The latest week’s survey is for the week ending April 1. The latest week’s activity consisted of a 3.4 percent decrease in purchasing…
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the market shares of single-family and multifamily home building in rural submarkets, as identified by NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), increased from the fourth quarter of 2020. Evolving market conditions were primarily responsible for the market share gains. Rural areas’ home building market share changes indirectly reflected differing…
Compared to a year ago, average hourly earnings for residential building workers continue to rise, as the construction labor market remains tight. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers were $28.66 in February 2022, increasing 6% from $27.01 a year ago. This was 16.7% higher…
